The Manchester Connection - in pictures

The Manchester Connection - in pictures

A wellspring of musical creativity in Manchester during the late 70s and 80s brought us bands such as Joy Division, the Smiths and the Stone Roses. Their posters and album sleeves are the focus of a new exhibition. Co-curator Tim Maddison talks us through a selection of original artworks that will be on display.
The Manchester Connection is at the
Movie Poster Art Gallery, London W1, from 12-25 November 2011

Saturday 5 November 2011 20.05 EDT
First published on Saturday 5 November 2011 20.05 EDT

New Order - Movement

'Peter Saville was happy to work with and adapt existing artworks, like this Futurist design by Fortunato Depero. It wasn't that everything designers came up with was 100% original, but what they used and they way they used it, particularly in a pop context, was completely different'Photograph: Courtesy of Movie Poster Art Gallery

The Smiths - Sheila Take A Bow and Panic

'Morrissey was the creative force behind all of the Smiths’ designs. He used them to show some of his own inspirations and cultural favourites. Apparently he spent about a month working on each one with Caryn Gough and Joe Slee at Rough Trade, and they were absolutely meticulous'

Joy Division - Atmosphere

'Peter Saville designed completely new, wonderfully cryptic artwork for this 1988 Factory Records re-release. I think it was Joy Division's own request that they didn't appear on any of their sleeves, which was all part of the mystique of the band and the label, using the packaging to ask more questions than it answered'Photograph: Courtesy of Movie Poster Art Gallery

New Order - Fine Time

'The band started to become more poppy and dance-influenced after visiting dance clubs in Manhattan and Ibiza. Here, Peter Saville has chosen a pretty explicit-looking image of pills for Fine Time, a pop art image by Richard Bernstein that clearly plays up the druggy aspects of the scene'Photograph: Courtesy of Movie Poster Art Gallery

Stone Roses - Fools Gold

'John Squire [the band’s guitarist] painted a dolphin and photographed it through rippled glass, for the water-like effect of this image. It's arguably one of the most famous British sleeve covers of that whole decade'Photograph: Courtesy of Movie Poster Art Gallery

Happy Mondays - Pills 'N' Thrills and Bellyaches

'This poster from 1990 by Central Station is made up of sweet wrappers. It’s fun and colourful, almost like a sugar rush in picture form. Factory Records paid for the designers to fly to Los Angeles to collect the wrappers, which commercially was a completely mad thing to do'Photograph: Courtesy of Movie Poster Art Gallery

Stone Roses - One Love

'The story goes that the original painting for One Love looked alarmingly like a swastika. So John Squire ripped it to shreds, laid the pieces out on the floor, and photographed it. He's obviously very influenced by pop art, Jackson Pollock and American artists from the 60s.' The image was later
burned in the video for the single